Professional Respiratory & Rehab shifts

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Three years ago, when other HME providers were trimming staff and cutting services, Professional Respiratory & Rehab opted for a different approach.
The company decided to expand.
Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Professional Respiratory & Rehab, founded in 2003, already had a strong background in respiratory services and home medical equipment, driven by owners Theresa Crump and Vickie Jarrell, both respiratory therapists.
But after analyzing internal data with an eye toward optimizing revenue, it decided to shift the company's focus toward wheeled mobility and rehab, where it saw the potential for tremendous growth, said Carter Fuller, vice president of sales and operations.
Today, rehab accounts for 74% of Professional Respiratory & Rehab's business, and respiratory and general HME each account for 13%.
Fuller attributed the successful shift to the company's team of committed employees, as well Crump and Jarrell, who were both able to see and act on a vision. Professional Respiratory & Rehab now has 54 employees.
“It's constantly asking the question, 'How do we adapt?' and looking at opportunities for growth,” said Fuller, who joined the company about four years ago. “We wanted to come up with a game plan because the industry has changed. There have been so many cuts.”
As Professional Respiratory & Rehab adjusted its focus, it continued to lean on data mining and other internal analyses to provide key insight into what's working.
“We try to analyze each process and try to figure out how we make that better,” Fuller said.
However, the company still retains its clinical approach, says Jarrell, one of the owners.
“Theresa and I are both clinicians,” she said. “We believe in the therapy. But we also know what's right for the company.”
Even with a successful shift, Fuller said, there's always room for improvement.
“We're focused on the micros and the macros,” he said. “We understand our competition. I'm always trying to figure out what is the next thing that's going to hit us, so we can be ready.”